Drizzly Bay Area skies will give way to heavier rain overnight

By Daniel M. Jimenez Bay Area News Group

Posted:
12/01/2012 09:35:34 AM PST

Updated:
12/01/2012 07:51:50 PM PST

A break in the heavy rain Saturday may have helped the ground absorb some of the water left after Friday's downpours, but forecasters said the next big storm moving through Sunday will linger over the Bay Area.

Christine Riley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the storm was going to move into the North Bay just before midnight Saturday. "It will linger there for six to eight hours, then start to move slowly southward," she said.

The East Bay and South Bay was forecast to get between an inch and a half to two inches of rain during the heaviest portion of the storm, through about noon Sunday, Riley said. Strong winds were expected to accompany the storm, she said.

Officials in the North Bay were keeping a close eye on the Napa River near Napa and St. Helena. The weather service issued a flash flood warning early Saturday morning. The North Bay was especially hard-hit Friday, with 24-hour rainfall totals of up to 8 inches in some locations.

The Napa River was expected to flood around noon Sunday, while the Russian River was expected to flood near Guerneville early Monday morning, the weather service said.

The Napa River overwhelmed downtown Napa in 2005, flooding or destroying about 1,000 homes and forcing thousands of residents to leave the area.

The rest of the Bay Area remained under an urban flood and small stream advisory, meaning that creeks and low-lying areas could experience minor flooding through Monday morning.

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Forecasters also issued flood warnings for the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe and the Susan River in Lassen County, as well as the Eel, Navarro and Van Duzen rivers in far Northern California.

Showers will linger through the rest of the Sunday before giving way to mostly dry skies by Monday, the weather service said.

PG&E crews were out again Saturday, repairing downed lines and restoring service. Hundreds of customers in the East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula lost power during the morning rains, PG&E spokesman J.D. Guidi said.

The stormy weather may have been behind a crash that involved several cars on Interstate 280 outside of San Francisco on Saturday morning, as well as the death of a Pacific Gas & Electric worker in West Sacramento who was killed after his truck crashed into a traffic signal pole during the stormy weather Friday.

With the ground saturated with water, increasing the possibility of trees and branches falling onto roadways, and the roads expected to be slick, the California Highway Patrol urged drivers to be extra cautious.

Officials were also warning people to be careful along beaches.

A high surf advisory was issued by the weather service, with swells expected to be 14 to 16 feet along the Northern California coast.